The Girl with the Scarred Tattoo
by sarahbellie
Summary: Secrets can be a woman's greatest asset. For Serena, she never found it difficult to keep her long past under wraps; believing herself to be an orphan she thought it was best. But when her family finally catches up with her and forces beyond her power deem that she's ready, how will she cope? "I thought you said we were going be okay." "I said that you would." [Merlin/OC]
1. What One Wishes to Forget

_Disclaimer; I do not own Merlin or Doctor Who but if owned both would conjoin them every once in a while for some fun adventures._

_Also for some cheesecake._

_That is all._

* * *

_A flake of snow drifted heavily towards the ground, the pure white of the element wrongly coloured with the stain of fresh blood. As it gracefully fell towards land the heads of the people around the oddity turned; seemingly entranced by its rich colour. They reached out to touch the oddly red flake, to feel the warmth of the touch that the blood would bring. Alas the flake found its victim in a young girl of no more than four years, left abandoned and weeping in the middle of the street. Using the forces of the wind the flake edged itself closer as if it may settle on her gently and lay on the lovely brunette pin-straight locks that tumbled from her head. But just as it moved to settle on her skull, the flake split apart, the drop of rich blood now moving to land on the young girls arm and the white snowflake continuing to gracefully fall on the girl's hair. Seconds passed in the air as the elements made their way towards their targets when finally, they both landed on the girl with a flash of light._

_In that blinding flash the scene changed and the girl had grown into a beautiful young lady with the purest white hair that could be imagined. Her body was clad in iron armour that was splattered with the dripping blood of dead men; the covered etchings of flowers and curved lines her 'Father' had insisted for a 'more feminine' look seeming pointless at that moment. Around her were the bodies of dead men, lifeless and pale with gashes spouting blood from their most vital parts of the body. The lady discarded their loss however, for this was not her first time seeing death or a battlefield for that matter. She glanced behind to the burning castle that was her home, standing tall and proud atop the mountain where it had always seemed indestructible to her. The fair city of Camelot, ruled by a King and Queen that would be suitable for governing the gods. The only family that the lady was restored with and her only home burning in a crumbling mass. The Lady turned her head hesitantly back to the road that lay before her, the thoughts in her mind taking a saddening turn as she realized with a tear she would not be returning to her home._

With a flash of light the Mulberry Inn was filled with the sounds of shattering screams as a woman woke up inside. Her tattered hands gripping at the scratchy sheets as a shooting sensation shot up her arm with renewed fury. The storm outside raged on deafeningly, drowning out her screams with its thunder as she let them loose. When she'd finally calmed herself the woman stared out into the black abyss of the night outside as her lungs heaved with exhaustion, the shooting feeling still filling her arm painfully as she did so. When she finally fixed her eyes on her arm she saw the familiar white, glowing swirls and flowers that had grown to cover her arm over time. After a while when the pain finally subsided and the glowing dimmed she immersed her fingertips through her auburn locks, darkened by the dim light of the room.

"Just a dream, not the moment." She chanted to herself repeatedly. The chant had become a sort mantra for herself for a while now and she found herself repeating the phrase after every one of her dreams.

As calmness took over her she raised her bluish grey eyes to stare out the window as lightning flashed and rain spluttered against anything within its reach. Finally falling back onto the hard pillow she muttered a "Just a dream Serena, not a memory" one last time before she felt the heaviness of sleep enclose her.


	2. A Funny Name, A Crazy Man

_Disclaimer; I do not own Merlin or Doctor Who but if owned both would conjoin them every once in a while for some fun adventures._

_Also for some cheesecake._

_That is all._

* * *

Serena collapsed into the familiar seating of her velvet lounge comfortably. Her business trip had taken more hours than planned and apart from her recent lack of sleep, her workload had exhausted her completely. She was more than happy to be back in her run-down Manhattan apartment. Serena's bluish grey eyes trained themselves on the wooden bookstand on the brick wall opposite her, but she couldn't bring herself to leave the comfort of her black, velvet lounge. Sighing, she slowly laid her head on the edge of the piece of comfortable furniture and convinced herself a few moments rest would do her good. Serena closed her eyelids delicately before snapping them back open in shock. She had seen a flash, a face that was mostly blurred apart from the eyes; eyes which had the same bluish tint but held green in combination instead of grey. Serena wondered at the oddity as she did not believe she had met this man before. Certainly she would remember eyes that were strikingly similar to her own, wouldn't she?

Finding she was wide awake Serena pulled her curled auburn locks into a bun simply, reaching into her handbag and grasping her phone from it before walking towards the mahogany door in despair. She had wanted to sleep, but it seemed like more exercise was all she had on offer. Serena took poised steps as she reached the front door open of the apartment building and pulled it open confidently.

_I'll only go around the block and then be back to have a nap, _she resolved mentally, making a note to check the time periodically. Her resolve halted however when Serena could feel the heat of a stare on her back. In a flurry she whirled around and met eye-to-eye with a woman with hair equally as red as her own. Serena froze; the woman was staring at her strangely. Her eyes held the sense as if she thought she knew something. Serena stared back equally, waiting for the woman to decide on whether to speak to her or not. After a few minutes of silent communication between the two Serena decided to walk away, attachments and friends are things that she could not let drag her down. Not in her lifetime, not anymore. She walked slowly however, giving the woman a few more moments to pluck up the courage to speak to her before she disappeared. Serena was disappointed however when no voice called her back and she continued her exercise around the block with a renewed anger at the rudeness of the person.

* * *

_Is it not rude enough to blatantly stare at someone right in front of their face as it is without continuing to disregard them further by not giving an explanation as to why? _Serena continued to angrily contemplate as she stalked around the last corner of her block and in the direction of her apartment building. _I mean, the least she could've said is hi, not stare at me like that. Jesus Christ I thought I looked like a goddamn freak show. _Serena sighed as she stalked further towards her building, _what a creepy little_-

"Hello!" a some-what masculine voice called, scaring Serena out of her wits and causing her to drop her phone, "Sorry about the mess I hope you don't mind," The voice prattled on, "my friends and I were just passing through."

Serena trained her eyes to her phone on the ground and let out a frustrated sigh as she reached down to grasp it. Just when she was about to grab it however, a pair of sturdy hands grasped it and lifted it out of her sight quickly. Serena gave a frustrated growl and turned to look at the perpetrator menacingly, "Hey! That's my-"

Her voice stopped short when she saw the same eyes she'd envisioned just an hour ago when she'd tried to sleep. Something flashed behind the man's bluish green eyes, but was quickly replaced with a glint of mischief as the man stared at her, a half smirk gracing his face, "Your phone?"

Serena gave him an incredulous look, _well what else would it be halfwit? _She thrust that thought to the back of her mind as she immediately plucked her phone from him. After studying him for a few more moments Serena came to the conclusion that the man was a complete nutcase. _The suit would be okay if he wasn't wearing a bowtie, that's for sure. _Serena thought bitterly, she wasn't in the mood for people without an IQ today.

It took a few moments before the man gave her a strange look, "Is something wrong?"

Serena found the words tumbling from her lips before she had thought them, "Who are you?"

The man seemed to perk up at this question, as if it was his favourite game to play, "I'm the Doctor!" He cried happily, a silly grin placed on his face.

"Doctor Who?"

"Just the Doctor!" He sang.

_More like you _need _a doctor... _"Uh-huh. You are… 'The Doctor'?" She spoke slowly, like she was tasting the name as she spoke it.

"Yep."

"Doesn't seem like a real name to me." Serena claimed, raising her eyebrow at 'The Doctor' quizzically.

In return the Doctor's eyebrows fuddled as he stared at Serena, "It's a real enough name if I have it though isn't it?"

"I don't think so; you must have another name that you're hiding somewhere." Serena answered, daring the man to contradict her.

Something flashed behind the Doctors eyes again which he quickly concealed by pointing to her apartment building next to them, or at least some sort of building.

"What happened?!" Serena cried as she looked at the strange building in her apartment blocks place, it was a pizza restaurant called '_Benzels,' "_My apartment block was just here!" She turned to look at the Doctor with an angered expression. She couldn't have been lost, she'd circled the block many times whilst she lived here and knew she had gone the correct route.

The Doctor gave an apologetic look as he tore his eyes from the building, "Paradox, the building never was." He replied sadly, "But what I want to understand is why exactly you weren't taken somewhere else with it?"

Serena gave the man an incredulous glare.

"Right, sorry you don't know what a paradox is do you-"

Serena cut him off, "No and I'm thinking that I wouldn't like to know." She sighed, staring at what was her shelter and comfort for the past three months.

"Do you need somewhere to go?" The Doctor offered, "You could stay with me? Or I have friends in the area that could-"

"No that's perfectly alright," She muttered, "I don't want to be a charity case."

"Better than sleeping out in the cold." He reasoned, when Serena looked at him his eyes practically begged her to take the offer.

Serena sighed, staring longingly at where the missing building was. What other option did she have? The man may seem a little crazy but as far as crazy went he would be better than the rest of the population that lived on the streets. And since it wasn't safe for her at night…

"One night." She agreed, "Then I will be out of your hair." _And hopefully for good, _Serena amended to herself.


	3. Do you always do this!

_Disclaimer; I do not own Merlin or Doctor Who but if owned both would conjoin them every once in a while for some fun adventures._

_Also for some cheesecake._

_That is all._

* * *

"Right! So here we are," The Doctor exclaimed as Serena followed him up to the blue Police Box on the tallest hill of the graveyard, "Home sweet home."

Serena paused for a moment, her left brow lifting in amusement, "A Police Box?" she questioned as she turned to stare at the Doctor. She thought they almost didn't exist anymore, not since the last one was demolished in the 80's.

The Doctor stared at her amused expression with half-hearted glee; humming slightly he stepped forward to stroke a bit of dust from the blue wood delicately.

"These aren't made anymore, let alone exist. The last one was demolished in 1981." The amusements on Serena's face shifted to confusion as she listened to the senseless man continue humming his tune. Her expression was soon taken aback however, as it suddenly crossed her mind that the Doctor had called the Police Box his _home_.

"It's not just _any _Police Box." The Doctor muttered as he continued to stroke the side oblivious to Serena's movements behind him. Her assumptions grew worse as she feared that this man might actually be as insane as she thought.

Her escape route grew to a complete stop however, when the Doctor pushed one of the wooden doors so that it creaked open slightly. Serena became entranced as she stared at the seemingly golden light that filtered through the slight crack. She could feel the delight radiating off the Doctor as her feet moved of their own accord, towards the Police Box.

When she had moved close enough to touch the mysterious blue box, she found it difficult to tear her eyes away from the light as she became more curious to the mystery of what was in it. Soon Serena found her curiosity overwhelming as her arms began pushing the door open further on its partially rusted hinges.

The Doctor had transfixed his stare on her face in that moment, only to be surprised that there was not the bewilderment gracing her face – something that he had become accustomed to with new _guests_ – but a look of immense curiosity as she stared at the impossibly large space before her cloudy blue eyes.

Serena's bluish grey eyes widened slightly in curiosity as they gazed at the gold like colour of the interior walls, seemingly entranced by the masses of perfectly placed circular holes in the walls. The inside of the TARDIS was mostly one big platform with what Serena thought was a weird sort of table in the middle with grey panels covered in what seemed like random junk from a rubbish tip. There seemed to be a drop off from what she could see over the railing, between the platform on which she stood and the floor of the room. Serena made a mental note to check out what was under there later. As she looked just past the trash table in the middle of the room she found a staircase that seemed to lead to an upper floor. Serena tugged on the ends of her auburn hands in wonder as her eyes took in the subtle beauty of it all, and she wondered just how big the interior of this TARDIS was.

"What kind of magic is this?" Serena exclaimed, entering the Police Box with timid steps.

The Doctor stepped in after her, a light chuckle passing his lips, "It's the TARDIS."

Turning, Serena once again faced the Doctor with an amused look, "It's the what?"

"The TARDIS."

"I'm guessing that's either from another language or it's an acronym." Serena guessed as she began to circle a round table of odd bits and bobs in the centre of the room.

The Doctor leaned on the table with ease as he gazed after the young lady in curiosity, "Time And Relative Dimensions In Space" he declared, absentmindedly toying with a joystick on the panel.

Serena hummed in response to his statement, "So an acronym then."

The Doctor smiled slightly at her resolution.

"So what is this place?" Serena asked, now rapidly circling the panels whilst laughing with glee. When she finally came to a stop she turned to the Doctor with a curious expression and asked, "What does it do?"

At this the Doctor perked up immediately, with a wide grin and bright eyes he made his way to Serena ecstatically.

"It's a time machine!" He exclaimed grasping the control panel to steady his slide until he was just out of the young girls reach, "Anywhere in time and space just right outside those doors."

Serena stared entrancedly at the Doctor; she knew time travel was possible but that you needed a machine to do it, she didn't know.

"You need a _machine _for time travel?" She questioned, staring at the Doctors grinning face.

The Doctor returned her questioning stare with furrowed eyebrows; "Of course! There really can't be any other way, scientifically I mean."

Serena gave a small laugh at his expense, before turning and viewing the room around her, "It's awfully big to be in a box so small." She replied cheekily, grinning at the surroundings she saw.

"Yes, well isn't there a better way to say that?" The Doctor cheekily replied, acting as if he was toying with the bits and bobs on what Serena now guessed to be as the console of the machine as he subtly dropped the hint.

"Yes but something tells me that's the statement that you're wishing for."

"What's wrong with that? It's one of my favourite parts!" He pouted, pleading with Serena through his cloudy blue green eyes.

Serena sighed as she picked up an old styled and yellowed telephone from the console, holding it up to her ear as she spoke resignedly, "It's _bigger _on the _inside_."

She watched as the Doctor giggled with glee at his triumph and began racing around the console, fiddling with the bits and bobs as he went. The TARDIS began to shake and Serena quickly backed up to cling to one of the rails around the room with fear.

"What are you doing?!" She exclaimed, gripping the cool metal harder in her fingers.

The Doctor paused at a large flip switch as he stared at Serena and stated with a wide grin, "Travelling."

He then pulled the switch down and the TARDIS began to shake so roughly that Serena found it difficult to keep her grip on the hard metal pole.

* * *

"So let me get this straight," Serena sighed tiredly for the fifth time as she glared at the Doctor with exhausted eyes, "the TARDIS is… _redecorating_?" she asked with disbelief.

"Yes!" The Doctor cried, shutting the blue TARDIS door loudly to stop the smoke from coming out, he then continued to use his voice in a whiny fashion as he added on, "If that's how you want to put it."

"Why? The interior looked nice just the way it was!" Serena answered indignantly, glaring at the blue Police Box with distaste and swearing she could hear it laughing back at her.

"Well you see," said the Doctor as he leaned against the side of the TARDIS wall casually, "It's just something she likes to do every now and then." He paused for a minute before adding a childish glint to his bluish green eyes and slicking his chocolate hair back with his hand whilst adding a cheeky, "For fun."

This earned a look of complete and utter disbelief from Serena as she analysed his last little statement in her mind and quickly snapped back, "So it's idea of _fun_," Serena emphasized with a glare, "is to _gas us out _of the _goddamn_ room into who knows where?!"

"Oi! We aren't _completely _lost!" The Doctor reasoned loudly, glancing at the lush forest that was appearing around them through the TARDIS's smog.

"Then where are we _Doctor_?" Serena shot back with a glare, her white jumper creasing as her arms folded together in an angered manner.

The Doctor stared at the area around him for a few moments before sniffing the air slightly, gaining a roll of the eyes from the woman in front of him.

"Doesn't the air smell a little too _fresh _to you?" He muttered towards the red-head, grasping at the soft white material of Serena's jumper and pulling her into the lush forest.

"I don't know? I can still smell the _smog _from the TARDIS." She muttered back bitterly, trudging after the Doctor in her dark jean shorts with resignation before asking, "Is this what you _normally _do?" she accused, stumbling slightly over a green, mossy rock and steadying herself, "Bring home strays, decide 'Oh hey, I'm going to take them on a journey though time', and then get them _completely lost_?!"

The Doctor chuckled slightly, brushing off her accusation and stating, "This is definitely Earth, it has to be." Still tugging at Serena's jumper as he took turns examining each of the lush flora around them as if to confirm his thoughts.

For the first time Serena was able to sniff the air around her, letting the fresh sent of pine needles and moss fill her senses.

"It must be very early for Earth if the air is this fresh," The Doctor thoughtfully added, copying Serena's act with the air around him, "I can hardly detect any sense of pollution. What about you?"

Serena began to stare warily at the earth around her, now taking cautious steps as she spoke, "It's definitely some of the easiest air _I've _even been able to breathe." She muttered, now gripping the Doctor's tawny sleeve in return for some stability as she almost toppled on top of him.

"Right, right." The Doctor muttered absentmindedly; staring entrancedly at something in the distance.

Quickly catching on Serena moved to stand next to the now standstill Doctor, soon realising why exactly he had stopped moving ahead. Her clutch on the Doctor's brown, tawny sleeve began to tighten as she remembered what exactly the object was.

In the distance, placed in a magnificent setting about halfway down the closest mountain, a beautiful white castle had been built.


	4. A Sign Of Great Upheaval

_Disclaimer; I do not own Merlin or Doctor Who but if owned both would conjoin them every once in a while for some fun adventures._

_Also for some cheesecake._

_That is all._

Hello lovely humans,

How was your day?

Sorry for the really short and crappy chapters at the moment but here's a massive chapter today on me! :)

Jeez, I feel like I've just bought you dinner or something…

_Anyway_, don't pay any attention to my weird ramblings and enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Serena sighed as she trudged behind the tweed clad man tugging at her sleeve. She pulled at her auburn locks for comfort until the bouncy curls that once graced her head were pulled into a wavy shape from the strain and groaned. This was exactly the _last _thing she needed to happen. She could tell easily by how clean the castle looked – even from afar – that it was relatively newer than the ones she had seen in her lifetime. A medieval place would have been bad enough to be stranded in, but a seemingly _younger_ one was going to be much, _much_ worse.

The Doctor continued humming a casual tune as he stepped over the wooden roots attempting to trip him on his journey. Completely oblivious to the stressed woman trailing him he gazed in wonder at the lush forests and tree's around them.

Serena stared at the man with discomfort, she still didn't trust the Doctor completely, even if he wasn't proven to be a madman, he certainly acted like it.

"So when exactly will the TARDIS be ready?" Serena called, gasping as she almost tripped over a root in the dirt floor of the forest.

"Days, weeks, months, I don't know." The Doctor replied with nonchalance as he continuously took large steps over the roots as well, "It's difficult to tell and we may be here for a while."

A sigh of anger escaped Serena's lips as she climbed over a particularly large root with caution, "I want to go home." She mumbled, brushing the dirt off her clothes in a frustrated manner.

The Doctor froze for a moment, a seemingly calculating expression on his worn face, "Well you can't." He answered decidedly, choosing to finally turn to face his companion with the same expression.

Serena scoffed at his antics, "What? Are you going to hold me captive now?" She sneered as she stepped past the doctor swiftly, grasping at a tree branch overhead instead to aid her over the roots.

"No," The Doctor replied, his jaw set in frustration, "I just mean that it's impossible."

"Is that what a paradox does?" Serena spun and spoke in an accusing voice to the man, "Take people away from their homes_._" She paused for a moment before beginning to take slow steps towards the Doctor, a glare in her cloudy eyes, "Or is that what _you _do, _Doctor_."

The Doctor returned her seething glare with a calm and calculated expression of his own and mumbled an almost silent, "You can't go home, it's impossible."

Serena turned and released an angered cry towards the clear blue skies before setting herself down on the earthy floor beneath them in an exhausted plunk. She was beginning to feel her sleepiness seeping through her adrenaline rush and Serena was exhausted.

"You know, I still don't know your name." The Doctor requested quietly, his cloudy green eyes boring into the young woman's back.

Laughing slightly, Serena twisted her body so that she could give the man a bitter, subdued glare, "Maybe that's for the best," She muttered, "you still seem pretty insane to me."

"Oh completely," The Doctor jested, a small grin gracing his worn face before it turned serious again, "But if we're going to be travelling together, I need at least _some _sort of indication. Anything will do, I don't even have to know _your _name if you wish it."

Serena turned back towards the area in front of her, a thoughtful look in her blue-grey eyes, "Just call me Serena," She replied timidly, "Sere, even."

The Doctor stepped forward and sat next to the woman, gazing at her with a look of fondness in his eyes, "Sere it is then."

Serena barely heard him speak the statement before the lush area began to spin dizzily around her. She grabbed at the wet leaves and roots surrounding her for some sort of stability as she felt a pair of hands trying to keep her upright. Somewhere in the distance she could hear shouting of some sort, as she struggled to focus on the sound Serena blacked out.

The doctor began to panic as he noticed her head fall back in exhaustion and immediately nestled it in the crook of his elbow to hold it steady. He could her yelling in the distance, most likely guards of some sort. Sliding his arms under her knees and back he lifted her delicate body off the ground with ease, walking towards the loud voices with calculated steps.

* * *

When Serena came to she noticed the warm scent of roses and pine immediately and curled her exhausted body inwards in comfort. Sighing delicately she silently laid one of her small hands on the material that her head rested on and noticed that it was a soft satin. In the back of her mind a small thought registered that Serena remembered that she had fainted from exhaustion in a _forest_ not on a bed. Immediately the fluttering eye lids covering her cloudy grey-blue eyes flew open in shock, a feeling of panic reeled throughout her body with fury as she pulled herself into a sitting position despite the protest from a pounding headache that had taken root.

Cautiously she began to take in her surroundings. With a deep breath the same smell of the dusty roses filled her airways and Serena immediately found herself coughing heavily as it choked her.

Through her coughing fit she noticed the creak of a door opening on its hinges and winced slightly as she made an attempt to breathe properly enough to stop. A small dark-skinned woman with even darker chocolate hair stepped into the room with a basket in her grasp. The basket was dropped however when the woman finally noticed that Serena had awoken and immediately muttered a quick, "Pardon me" with a curtsey before she dashed off in the direction she had come.

Serena stared after the woman with curiosity as she disappeared in the darkness of the corridor. She was just about to get up to follow the woman however, when she noticed that her body was covered in a sheer white nightgown instead of her white jumper and dark shorts that she had chosen that morning. Peering down at the basket that the woman had dropped Serena noticed a small array of delicate dresses and the like folded neatly into the woven holder and clearly sorted according to colour.

Snorting at the idea of dresses at all Serena noticed the sound of loud footsteps trudging towards her room as well as the excited chatter of a voice that sounded very familiar. Before she could react the Doctor and two men entered the room. One was taller than other with only slightly greying hair that looked to be naturally brown while the other was older and shorter with a seemingly defect on his left eye brow that now covered over his left eye. The woman that she had seen before trailed behind them, her hazelnut eyes trained on the ground as she picked up the washing basket timidly and took it to a mahogany dresser that Serena had only just drawn attention to.

"Sere," The Doctor called, drawing the auburn haired woman's attention immediately, "I would like to introduce you to Uther Pendragon, _King _of Camelot." He proudly announced gesturing towards the taller of the two strangers with brown hair and laugh lines wearing his face.

The man, _King Uther, _smiled encouragingly down at the girl as he reached for her hand. Serena gave the Doctor a wary glance before placing her hand in the Kings tentatively and letting a small smile grace her face as she slightly shook it.

When the King released her hand – albeit with a confused expression – the Doctor turned to the slightly older of the two men, his hair already mostly grey or white Serena couldn't tell exactly what his hair colour actually was.

"And this man is Gaius!" The Doctor proclaimed excitedly, "The court physician."

Gaius gave the Doctor a curious side glance before turning to the woman and grasping her hand shortly before letting it go as well.

"And this of course," The Doctor claimed, setting himself down by Serena in the soft bed and placing a rough hand on her shoulder, "is my daughter, the Lady Serena."

Through her shock at the Doctors statement Serena found herself speaking, "It's an honour to meet you both." Before bowing her head with respect and warily staring at the King when he was looking the other way. _I'll reprimand the Doctor for his claims later, _she amended.

Serena was startled form her thoughts when the King spoke, "It would be an honour Lord Smith if you would join us for the feast we are holding later in the week," Uther requested, a happy smile brightening his face in joy as he explained, "My wife, Queen Igraine is expecting a son very soon and we saw it for cause of celebration!"

Serena stiffened at the mention of the Queen as the Doctor's face brightened exceedingly with a smile of his own before he replied, "Of course, we would be delighted!" grasping Serena's other shoulder and drawing her into his side affectionately, "It's not every day a Prince is born, eh Sere?"

Gaius raised his eyebrows at the display of affection that not many displayed for their children in front of others. Serena noticing this made a point to discreetly pinch the Doctors hand and smile as he retracted his grip with a childish glare towards his '_daughter'_.

Finally the physician decided to speak, "Perhaps I should overlook the Lady now?" He enquired, glancing at his King with a look of questioning under his one lowered eyebrow, "Especially since she has been in such an area at this time?"

The King waved his hand casually and let a laugh escape his lips as he replied, "Yes, yes, of course Gaius" before turning to the Doctor to claim that he would see them at the feast and walking out of the wooden door of the chambers.

Gaius immediately turned towards the Lady as Uther left the room, she seemed a little too outgoing to be a Lady of status but he brushed it off. Picking up his brown bag he trudged over to the Lady Serena and set to work on assessing her injuries.

* * *

"Well," Gaius sighed, packing the last of his equipment into his bag, "Apart from exhaustion, you have only gained a few scratches and bruises to your injuries. We must count ourselves lucky that it wasn't a bite of sorts. I can only imagine what kind of problems we would have then."

"What do you mean, _'a bite of sorts'_?" Serena enquired with a raise of her eyebrow. The Doctor had left a few minutes ago, claiming that he had business to take care of and taking the maid from earlier with him.

Gaius closed his bag slowly as he contemplated his next words, "There are many creatures out in that forest," He claimed, rolling his sleeves down his arms and turning towards the Lady, "Most of them deadly."

Without meaning to Serena found herself perking up with interest, "What kind of creatures?"

A calculating look crossed Gaius's face as he stared at the young Lady in indecision. When he finally decided that she had a right to know of the dangers of the Darkling Woods Gaius told the Lady of the Questing beast that had been seen there a few days before her arrival in Camelot.

Serena stared back at the aged man with an equally calculating gaze, concealing her thoughts entirely from her expression as she replied with a silent, "Oh."

Seemingly taken aback by the young Lady's answer, Gaius raised a brow in questioning also, "Oh?" he repeated, "Do you know what a Questing Beast _is _my Lady?"

He gave her a sceptical look as she stared back equally, claiming that she did and that she was saddened by its occurrence.

"It's said to bring a time of great upheaval," Serena recalled quietly, playing with the ends of her messy auburn hair, "I hope the upheaval is not _too _great." She amended quietly, a knowing look in her eyes.

"Indeed." Gaius answered calmly before helping the Lady back into her bed and giving a small smile, "For the sake of us all, let there not be any upheaval at all."

Serena hummed in reply, settling herself into the pillows and sheets of the bed comfortably.

"How is it you know about such things My Lady?" Gaius asked, staring at the Lady with curiosity.

Merely shrugging her shoulders, Serena tried to shake it off by claiming that her mother had told her stories of the old magic to put her to sleep.

Gaius raised his right eyebrow at her efforts – the gesture seeming more comical due to his sunken left eye brow – before letting it go and simply replying, "Get some rest, you will need it for the feast my Lady."

The small woman yawned in reply, shifting in the soft bed sheets quietly as she muttered a "Goodnight Gaius" and fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

Ok so I know that actually wasn't that long, I'm still working on it, but I would love some feedback please! :) So review and let me know what you like/dislike about this story and I'll make efforts to use the information to give you better chapters! :)

Anyway Happy New Year everyone, because I didn't say it in my last chapter.

Thank you for reading!

Love Sarah x


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